Chapter 111 – Part 2 Nobility – Elizabeth (1)

※This story is from Elizabeth’s point of view.
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Elizabeth. Elizabeth Knight.
She is the daughter of the duchy of Knightna, one of the most prestigious families in the kingdom, and she is also the granddaughter of the chancellor and the fiancé of the crown prince.
A list of these titles would suffice to introduce myself.

The youngest princess of the duchy born with three older brothers.
Whether gold or jade, it goes without saying that they were raised.
I grew up with lots of love from my family and people around me.

It was only when she was five years old that her fiancé was decided.
His Highness Julius, the first prince of the kingdom and the crown prince this time.
He was a beautiful prince 3 years older than me.

His Highness Julius was born with the dignity of a prince. He is truly a man born to be a king. No one objected to His Highness Julius ascending to the position of crown prince.

The engagement between His Highness and me could be said to be a typical marriage of convenience. Being selected as the Crown Prince at the age of 8, he also had to select a Crown Princess to support Her Highness.
No matter how brilliant His Highness Julius is, he cannot become king by himself. An aristocratic family that would serve as a base of support was absolutely necessary.
The first name that came to mind was the kingdom’s most prestigious family, the Knights and Dukes. And coincidentally, the Knightna family had a daughter the same age as His Highness Julius.

“Good luck in the future, Elizabeth. Let’s make this country a better country together.”

I still remember vividly the first meeting with Her Highness after the engagement was decided. The image of him holding my hands in the garden of the palace in full bloom and smiling wider than any other flower.
What a beautiful person this is. Even I, who was still young, had my cheeks flushed.
That day, I sincerely thought that I wanted to become a person suitable to stand by Her Highness’ side.

However, what awaited me after that was a strict education to become the Crown Princess. Living in the palace from morning to night, the work of adapting everything in life, every move, to the specifications of the Crown Princess began.

I cried a lot because of the strict education. If you didn’t like even a single hand gesture, your fingers were often beaten with a cane.
Now only five years old It was a hellish day for me, who was cherished like a flower in a greenhouse. If I had been able to quit, I would have thrown it out dozens of times.

However, after realizing the reality that she could not quit or run away, she worked hard to become perfect to the extent that no one could throw up. With the determination of ‘When I become the next queen, I will first change the way the princesses are educated’.

As a result, I completed all of that education.
Now that I think about it, it was closer to abuse than education, but it is also true that I have grown greatly thanks to strict education anyway. Because I, along with Her Highness Julius, also heard the words ‘As expected of the duke’s daughter’ and ‘You look like the fiance of the crown prince’.

If there was only joy in those painful days, it was being able to meet with His Highness Julius from time to time.
While living in the royal palace, there were occasions when I ran into Her Highness by chance outside of the regular tea time every week. Her Highness always smiled and talked to me, and while I was talking with Her Highness, I was able to forget the agony of the Crown Princess’s education, even for a moment. Sometimes, when His Highness went to a foreign country and couldn’t see her for a long time, she was able to soothe her loneliness by constantly exchanging letters.

That’s how we grew up smoothly, adhering to the procedures. I had no doubt that if time passed like this, I would marry His Highness Julius and officially become the Crown Princess, and after more time, I would become the queen to His Highness Julius.

But that future will be shattered in an abrupt way.
What awaited me in the future was not my wedding with Her Highness, but her Highness’s funeral. It was the year I turned 15 and Her Highness turned 18.

“Elizabeth. Take heart and listen. His Highness Julius has passed away.”

Grandpa, the Prime Minister of the kingdom, said while twisting his mustache. I finally thought his grandfather was senile.
The cause of death was a falling horse accident. He seriously injured his head and said that he could not return.

Two days ago, when he told me that he was going to inspect a local territory, he was smiling cheerfully. A horseback accident when there was no battle.
In the first place, several doctors and knights must have accompanied Her Highness. What the hell did they do?

“It’s impossible.”

I asserted It makes no sense for His Majesty, who seemed like the main character of this world, to die so absurdly.
Grandpa told me several times with a sad face. Even if you don’t want to believe it, it’s real. But I said I couldn’t believe it until I saw Her Highness’ body.

To begin with, I couldn’t see His Highness Julius’ corpse. I made several requests to His Majesty the King and Her Highness the Queen, but ‘Jim confirmed it.’, ‘You don’t look like Miss Elizabeth. Julius wouldn’t want you to see it either.’

During the funeral of Her Highness, the entire people of the kingdom’s capital were immersed in a wave of mourning.
His Holiness the Pope led the funeral ceremony, and His Majesty the King recited the eulogy. The death of the crown prince was sad, but he reassured the people that the kingdom would not be shaken.
Her Highness the Queen wept as she clung to the coffin that the Crown Prince was in. Before the noble queen, many people shed tears at the sight of her mother who had lost her son.

And I am watching that scene as if it were someone else’s business.
Not a tear fell until the funeral was over. It was because His Majesty Julius’ death still hadn’t been realized.
Rather, it was more realistic to think that the King, His Highness the Queen, the Pope, and even my grandfather were conspiring to deceive me. His Highness Julius fell in love at first sight with a certain village girl in the estate where he went on an inspection tour, and escaped her love, so much so that you can even imagine that he is putting on a play like this to cover up the scandal.

Many of the nobles who attended the funeral saw me, who had been engaged to His Highness Julius for 10 years, and did not shed a single tear at His Highness’s funeral. It must have been clearly compared to Her Highness, the queen who cries sadly. It would have been a very good story for nobles who like to talk about others.

Thanks to that, many nicknames have been attached to me personally. Nobles from factions such as knights and dukes at least had plausible nicknames like ‘Ice Rose’, but hostile factions gave them nicknames like ‘Princess in an Iron Mask’ or ‘Tin Doll’. Anyway, it didn’t matter because there was no direct call in front of me.

After the funeral, everyday life returned. But my world has completely changed.
The education of the Crown Princess had been halted because it had fizzled out, and I, having graduated early from the Royal School, had nothing to do. I didn’t think it was good to do anything right after Her Highness’s funeral, so I just had to shut myself up in a room in the mansion.

In the meantime, the adults would have been busy cleaning up. In particular, the chancellor’s grandfather, who was a few years older in an instant, would say, ‘Why did this happen in my generation?’

My stomach is busy, but a month has passed without me doing anything. When I was called by my grandfather, I was worried that if I didn’t do something soon, my body would rust.

His grandfather sat across from the table looking a little displeased and restless. I have something to say, but is it something that is difficult to say?
Grandpa opened his mouth with difficulty.

“Elizabeth. How about deciding on a new fiancé soon?”
“Engagement?”

Grandpa’s words were completely unexpected. Grandpa nodded his head as if he knew everything.

“I understand your feelings. It hasn’t even been a few days since His Majesty Julius passed away, so it wouldn’t be easy to find a new fiance.”
“Grandpa. My fiancé is Highness Julius.”

What is Grandpa talking about?
At my obvious words, Grandpa sighed deeply.

“I know it’s hard for you to accept His Highness’ death. But not accepting it doesn’t mean that His Highness Julius will come back to life.”

My grandfather may have said that to ridicule me, but to me the words slammed into his chest like a heavy stone.
Just because I don’t acknowledge it doesn’t mean that His Highness Julius will return alive. On the contrary, he said, if death has been recognized by His Majesty the King and His Holiness the Pope, even a living person becomes a dead person.
Regardless of whether or not His Highness Julius fled for love, there is no coming back. From now on, I have to live in a world without His Highness Julius.

Is it. Her Highness is no longer in the world.

It wasn’t until a month or so after Her Highness’ death that I realized it. It felt like my body was slowly freezing from the tip of my toes.
She has lived her entire life to become the Crown Princess. A bleak reality came like a big beast to me who didn’t know any other way of life.

“Above all, the royal family is urging you to decide on your fiancé quickly, even for the sake of selecting the next crown prince.”
“…What does my engagement have to do with the selection of the next crown prince?”

Swallowing the agitation in my heart, I ask again. There, Grandpa said with an expression as if he was swallowing astringent food.

“The royal family plans to appoint His Highness Lucius, the younger brother of His Highness Julius, as the new crown prince.”

Your Highness Lucius. The younger brother of His Highness Julius, 3 years younger, and the second prince. No, he has become the first prince now.
Anyway, I’m the same age as him, but I’ve never run into him.
However, I would say that there are many rumors that are not very good. Whether it’s being too free-spirited while being a member of the royal family, or being timid and lazy.

Most of the evaluations were compared to His Highness Julius, so we don’t know what kind of person he really is. However, the King’s Majesty and Her Highness the Queen were generous to Prince Lucius, so the intensity of education was low, and the impression that the Prince was letting him do as he wanted was strong.
It must have been because, as long as there was a certain next king, Crown Prince Julius, a younger brother who was too competent could rather cause confusion.

As a result, it was ironic that Prince Lucius, whom he had left behind, became crown prince.
But what does that have to do with my engagement?

“Her Highness the Queen wants Elizabeth to stand by her side at Her Highness Lucius’s crowning ceremony.”

I was able to understand the circumstances of the incident when my grandfather spoke with difficulty. In the crown prince ceremony, the only women who stand next to the crown prince are the crown princess or the future crown princess.
In other words, the royal family wants me to become His Highness Lucius’ fiancée.

Raising the Crown Prince is the same, but raising the Crown Princess also takes time and money. The crown prince is different from the ordinary princess. She is the next mother-in-law and the woman who will become the face of the country in the future.

Historically, an incompetent queen brought more confusion to the country than a foolish king. In that sense, it can be said that the selection of a crown prince is more important than the selection of a crown prince, which affects the rise and fall of the country.

Her Highness Lucius is already 15 years old, so there is not enough time to select and raise the Crown Princess from now on. If she picks up a 10-year-old crown prince and trains her now, it will take at least five years. Until then, she couldn’t leave the position of crown prince vacant, but if she was chosen hastily, it might become a problem she couldn’t handle later. In the case of Her Highness Julius, she was only 8 years old, so she could have replaced her with another fiancée in the worst case, but Her Highness was running out of time.

On the other hand, here is a proven property that has already been trained for 10 years. At the time, her family was a knight or duke. Because she was suddenly selected as the crown prince, her position is weak, and she is enough to become His Highness Lucius’ assistant. It can be said that it was a natural choice for Her Highness the Queen to point out to me.

“Can I refuse the royal offer?”

At my question, Grandpa nodded confidently.

“Of course. I will support Elizabeth no matter what she decides. She bets the rest of this old man’s life.”

Grandpa said it as if he was determined, but for me, it wasn’t desperate enough to risk the rest of my grandfather’s life no matter how it turned out. To be honest, it didn’t matter anyway.
Because she had lived her entire life as Prince Julius’ fiancé, she had never even imagined being with another man. It didn’t matter whether my next fiancée would become Prince Lucius, a descendant of another aristocrat, or even if he became nobody and lived alone.

The only thing that bothered me was His Highness Julius’ maintenance.

“Together let’s make this country a better country.”

His Highness Julius was a great prince. As he said when we first met, he was the one who gave answers to all questions based on how he could make this kingdom better.
And I, who had been appointed as the Crown Princess, was also affected by such a highness. I didn’t even have to think about which choice would be for the country.

“…Grandpa. I will accept the royal family’s offer.”

It was a choice not only for the kingdom, but also for me.
Not only is she able to retain her status as crown prince, but she doesn’t give the enemy factions a chance to become her maternal cousin. And if Crown Prince Lucius becomes the king and I become the queen, the position of the knights and the family will be even more solid.

I killed my emotions and realistically made the best choice.
However, I realized from the first meeting with Prince Lucius that worldly affairs do not flow as easily as a girl thinks.